Carl Sagan: astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, skeptic, and visionary. The middle of the twentieth century was clad in scientific advancements that opened up the realm of our universe to the world. At the head of this exploration was Carl Sagan, a pioneer of sorts. Aside from his countless contributions to the scientific community, he backed a new understanding of the cosmos to the more pedestrian population of the world.
Sagan has said himself that he got his analytical urges to Rachel Molly Gruber Sagan, his mother. She was an oppressed intellectual who never met her full potential due to the bigotries against the poor, the Jewish, and women. There was not much known about Rachel’s family, though it was rumored that her father Leib Gruber was a murderer. When Rachel was eight, her father sent her to live with relatives in Austria, but when they were put up with her they sent Rachel to New York, back to her father. Rachel grew up poor in New York City, nearly homeless without much care from the likes of her family. Rachel spoiled Carl and later on lived through his intellectual success that she had never had the chance to achieve. Sagan’s father Sam Sagan has an even more obscure past. Sam was born on March 2nd of 1905 in Ukraine and came to America five years later. Unlike Rachel, Sam would have been happy with an average child, and though he admired his son’s intellect, he longed for a typical American family (Keay 1-6).
Sagan was born on November 9th of 1934 in Brooklyn New York. The Sagan family was on of modest income and lived in an apartment in Bensonhurst. Sagan was raised as a reformed Jew, though as an adult he labeled himself as Atheist. As a child Sagan embodied to personalities, one o...
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...g up the phone, they were engaged. AS they continued to craft the Golden Record Dryan had the idea that they record the electrical impulses of the brain and nervous system and turn those impulses to sound waves. When Druyan went to have her brain activity recorded, she says she meditated the whole time on her love for Sagan (Abumrad).
Works Cited
Abumrad, Jad, and Robert Krulwich. "Carl Sagan And Ann Druyan's Ultimate Mix Tape." NPR. NPR, 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 24 May 2014.
Morrison, David. "Carl Sagan’s Life and Legacy as Scientist, Teacher, and Skeptic." - CSI. CSICOP, Feb. 2007. Web. 06 May 2014.
Davidson, Keay. "Chapter 1: Brooklyn." Carl Sagan: A Life. N.p.: John Wiley & Sons, 1999. N. pag. Print.
"Carl Sagan." 2014. The Famous People website. May 26 2014, 09:18
Sagan, Carl (January 5, 1995). An Interview with Carl Sagan. (Interview).Charlie Rose. PBS. New York.
Overbye, Dennis. "Einstein and the Black Hole." New York Times 13 Aug. 2013: D1(L). Student Resources in Context. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Villanueva, John. "Force of Gravity." Universe Today RSS. Universe Today, 19 July 2009. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Hawking, Stephen. “Our Picture of the Universe.” Fields of Reading. 6th ed. Ed. Nancy R. Comely et al. New York: St. Martin’s, 2001. (565-574)
Hoyle, Fred From Stonehenge to Modern Cosmology San Francisco 1972 On Stonehenge San Francisco 1977
	Isaac Asimov, of Jewish descent, was born in Petrovichi, U.S.S.R. on January 2, 1920. His parents were Judah and Anna Rachel Asimov. Isaac also had a brother named Stanley and a sister named Marcia. In 1923 the Asimovs left the Soviet Union and immigrated to the States. Getting over seas was not as easy as it is today. The Asimovs had to endure a horrible boat ride with horrible food, seasickness, and the anxiety of what the future had in store for them. They made their home in Brooklyn, New York where they opened a candy store (Erlanger 9). When he was nine years of age, after school he worked in his parent's candy store. It was then that began reading science fiction magazines. He had to struggle to read these magazines because his father would not permit him to read "such junk"(Erlanger 9). " Isaac you should be reading books with more value," his father told him (wilson). Sooner or later his father gave in and told him not to forget his library books (Erlanger 11). However, this reading material was the only thing that his dad would let him touch on the magazine rack.
White, Michael and Gribbin, John. Einstein: A Life in Science. Amazon.com: Editorial Review: Kirkus Review. 30 Oct. 2003 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos.
At a young age it was apparent that he was scientifically inclined. In school, he was interested in all things scientific and loved math. At one point he even gave thought to becoming a mathematician. After high school, he went to MIT to study physics, and after four years of that he went to Princeton as a graduate student. During this time in his life, he became engaged to his high school sweetie, Arline Greenbaum. Halfway into his education at Princeton, Arline was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and was not given many years to live. So Richard married her and put his doctoral thesis on hold.
Sagan starts his story by talking about the troubling fact that so many people in this world are scientifically illiterate. It is estimated that 95% of people are scientifically
Richard Feynman was born on May 11, 1918 in Brooklyn to Lucille and Melville Feynman. Feynman's childhood home was in the community of Far Rockaway, in the outskirts if Manhattan.
Friedman, Alan J. and Carol C. Donley "Einstein As Myth and Muse" Cambrige 1985, Cambridge University Press
Sagan's first experiences with writing came at the University of Chicago, where he received both his master's and his doctorate's degrees. These first encounters came in the form of scientific writings for professional journals, such as Icarus. His first scientific paper (which would later be reproduced in a Time-Life book, Planets) dealt with the theory that the surface of the planet Venus was very hot and dry, something that was not known to scientists at that time. Sagan began to gain recognition in his field and eventually became a full professor at Cornell, where he continued to publish many more scientific papers.
The two educated young men began working together to expand upon Penrose’s work, setting Hawking on a career course that would reshaped the way the world thinks about black holes and the universe; making legendary history. Hawking’s findings contributes to science today by inspiring those young and old to continue to research in order to add to Hawking’s ideas. This allows for many who are fascinated or who may be space fanatics to continue searching for
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